The Punjab government has given an undertaking in the Punjab and Haryana high court assuring to appoint the chairperson and two members of Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) in six weeks.

The tenure of the chairperson of the commission, justice Jagdeesh Bhalla (retd) had ended on March 22, 2016.(Representative image)

The Punjab government has given an undertaking in the Punjab and Haryana high court assuring to appoint the chairperson and two members of Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) in six weeks.

The undertaking was submitted during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate HC Arora before the vacation bench comprising justices M Jeyapal and Harinder Singh Sidhu on Tuesday.

In the PIL, Arora had urged the court to issue directions to the government for appointing the chairperson and two members of the commission.

The tenure of the chairperson of the commission, justice Jagdeesh Bhalla (retd) had ended on March 22, 2016. Members Pushpinder Singh Grewal’s tenure ended on January 11 this year that of Baljinder Singh on March 3, 2016.

The commission on an average receives about 60-70 daily and it is literally non-functional since March 22, 2016.

On the other hand, the respondents have not bothered to convene even a meeting of statutory selection committee for the purpose of recommending names for the vacant posts of the commission.

The vacation bench disposed of the PIL after accepting the Punjab government’s undertaking.